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Howard Dean waves after giving a speech in Honolulu in 2004. Dean is in American Samoa right now.Close

“He was never afraid to challenge the way party establishment in Washington did business, and that doesn’t win you friends in either party,” Trippi said by way of explaining the friction.

Getting closer to the point, Trippi added: “You don’t have to look any further than Rahm Emanuel.”

Emanuel served as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and battled repeatedly with Dean over party priorities in 2006. Emanuel, then an Illinois congressman, wanted to focus resources on competitive House races while Dean was more focused on expanding the party’s reach into red America as part of his “50-state strategy.”

“Now one of them is the chief of staff to the president of the United States, and one of them is the outgoing party chair,” Trippi wryly observed.

A source familiar with Emanuel's thinking dismissed the charges.

"Anyone who thinks Rahm has the time or inclination to do anything other than focus on transitioning to the White House and passing an economic recovery package isn't knowledgeable enough about his thinking to be commenting in a political story."

A close friend to Emanuel insisted that the incoming chief of staff was not plotting against his old adversary.

“I talk to Rahm every day,” said the friend. “Neither he nor I have mentioned the name of Howard Dean. It’s just not on his radar screen.”

In any event, the friend said, Dean would know for sure if he was being shunted aside by the new administration.

“Rahm never stabs you in the back. He stabs you in front. But I promise that this was accidental.”

Jim Dean said the past scrapes with Emanuel may be partly to blame, but, like some others close to the chairman, he was mostly mystified at the treatment.

“I get grumpy about it,” Dean said. “In fact, I was grumpy about it over Thanksgiving, and Howard pushed back and said, ‘Look, they’re not going do everything for everybody.’”

“He understands this is a grown-up business.”

But Jim Dean, who heads the progressive offshoot of the former Vermont governor’s presidential campaign, is not even letting Kaine take over the position before urging him to hold fast to the outgoing chairman’s signature initiative.

“Call on Tim Kaine to immediately renew the 50 State Strategy, and we'll make sure he gets the message,” Dean wrote in a blast e-mail Wednesday night on behalf of Democracy for America, urging the Virginia governor to rehire the committee’s 50 state organizers.

As if to prove the battle over strategic priorities still continues, Dean also wrote that “only three years ago, Gov. Dean was mocked by party insiders and Washington Democrats for spending DNC resources in Alaska.”

“This week, Alaskans watched Mark Begich swear in as their newly elected Democratic Senator,” Dean added in the e-mail, contending that Democrats risk their gains by “return[ing] to a shallow strategy of only fighting for votes in a few swing states.”

Dean’s critics suggest it was such targeting and precision, rather than a 50-state approach, that helped make the difference in key districts and states the past two cycles.

Trippi split the difference.

“The DNC had become another short-term committee,” the longtime consultant said, alluding to their past tendency to only focus on the next cycle in a fashion similar to the two congressional committees. “Howard Dean made them the party committee that takes the long view.”

Before leaving for the South Pacific, Dean discussed his future.

“I didn't do this for the spoils,” Dean told Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s “Hardball.” “I did this for the country. I'm very happy that Barack Obama is president, and I think he's picked a great Cabinet. And I'm pretty happy. I wouldn't trade my position for any other position right now. I'm going to go into the private sector, make a living making speeches, and do a lot of stuff on health care policy.”

But, showing a flash of the old, off-message Dean, the outgoing chairman couldn’t help but crack wise about just one of the new president’s challenges.

"You gotta hand it to Blagojevich," said Dean of the embattled Illinois governor’s brazen appointment of Roland Burris to succeed Obama in the Senate. "What a maneuver! What a maneuver! When his back was against the wall, he outsmarted a lot of people.”

I guess it will take some more examples like this, plus deepening crises with the fingerprints of the Dems as well as Republicans until more people realize that it is the system that produces the scum and not just the scum that produce the system--which includes both parties--and it is rotten to the core. Yes Obama has some depth and skills and even personal decency that previous candidates at various levels, that these insider career pols do not possess; but that is exactly what makes him even more calculating, opportunistic--and thus culpable. He came straight out of that same Illinois/Chicago Machine known to be rotten and so have some of his closest allies. He stayed in various positions (community organizer, Illinois Senate and U.S. Senate) just long enough to position himself for the next move "upward" and thus used people (especially some on the South side of Chicago already used and abused by so many) and promises--including to serve 6 years in the U.S. Senate--for his own calculated advancement..

He is not a psychopath like so many pols although he may well have some megalomania and/or narcissism and/or excessive confidence in himself and his abilities. But throwing away Dean is very revealing and may well vindicate poor old Ralph Nader who missed his time.

Class is something that Obama lacks. It will be a detriment to his presidency. A classic narcissist, he seems powerless to resist the opportunity to demean that wich he doesn't like. This was shown often in the election, when he used ridicule and dismissal as frequent rhetorical devices.

What ever.... It's a shame on the Obama camp that Dean wasn't included in the new administration's plans. I think that has more to do with Emanual than Obama. Emanual is a known cut throat and back stabber and he and Dean rarely saw eye to eye.

But the rest of us know, without Dr. Dean running the party and putting resources in RED states, this election would have been much closer than it was.

Dr. Dean was good for about a 100 Electorial Votes. President Obama would have received 265 without Dean's work and plan.

"We need to go everywhere. ......... I don't care how far west you go, that doesn't have Democrats. We have to be proud of who we are." - Dr. Howard Dean - DNC Chairman

HaH! Obama screws Dean like Dean screwed Hillary. what goes around comes around. Dean was so biased in keeping Michigan and Florida from counting their votes during the race........oh after it was over at the convention it was OK!!! but when it could have helped Hilllary it was stall stall stall.......rules are rules......even if they are stupid and disenfranchise a half a million voters. Obama owes Dean the election, because if Hillary had gotten those votes she very likely would have won. and this is how he gets treated..........amazing! Just deserts....served up cold to Dean. Hillary is in the cabinet and you are outside in the cold.